"So," Kylie said, dropping the half-empty milk carton. "Does anyone know if Holiday has hired any teachers yet for the school year?"
Perry, as if he'd figured out what Kylie was up to, jumped into the conversation. "When I was at the office last night with Burnett, he got a call from some fae dude that Holiday had supposedly hired. I think he's supposed to show up and move into his cabin next week."
Miranda, as if she'd figured out what Kylie was up to, too, started forking eggs into her mouth.
Kylie and Perry chatted a few minutes about the fae teacher and how it would be odd to actually go to real classes at the camp in the fall. Miranda continued to shove food in her mouth as if needing an excuse not to talk.
Accepting that her last subject had proved to be a failure, Kylie reached for her milk again and went back to brainstorming topics. Finally putting her milk down, she looked at Miranda and said the first thing that came to her mind. "Did you know that Perry nearly ate his cousin when he was two?"
Chapter Twelve
Kylie watched as Miranda dropped her fork to clatter against the tray, leaned forward, and for the first time made eye contact with Perry.
"What?"
Perry smiled. Just having Miranda's gaze on him made the boy's face glow and his eyes turn a nice shade of blue. For just a second, Kylie wondered what his real eye color was.
"I didn't almost eat him," he said. "I just chewed on him a little and spit him out. I was a cat and he was a bird. And he was older than me and always stealing my animal crackers."
Perry continued talking and Miranda continued listening and their eyes met and they both appeared almost mesmerized. Kylie, mentally giving herself high fives, leaned back a bit to make sure not to block the two lovebirds' views of each other. Then Miranda's phone rang. She broke eye contact with Perry and snatched up her phone, which sat beside her food tray.
Checking caller ID, she let out an excited squeal. "It's Todd Freeman. Oh, my God, he's actually calling me!" Miranda's grin brightened her eyes, and she did a little butt-wiggling dance on the bench.
It took Kylie a half second to remember that Todd Freeman was the warlock, aka the best-looking boy in Miranda's old school, who had asked for Miranda's number at the witch competition. It took Kylie the other half of a second to realize this might not be a good thing. Not for Perry, at least.
Miranda's gaze shot back to the blond shape-shifter, and for a flicker of a second, she looked guilty. It wasn't much, but it offered Kylie a bit of hope.
"Excuse me," Miranda said, and then stood up, phone in hand, and zipped out of the dining hall.
Perry watched Miranda go and then looked at Kylie. His eyes were now a bright green color and they were slightly pinched, giving off a hint of anger. And that contented glow on his cheeks from a few seconds ago was gone. Vanished.
"Should I ask who the hell Todd Freeman is, or do I friggin' not want to know?"
Kylie's mind raced as she tried to find the words to answer. "He's just..." Just when she thought she knew what to say, something that would soothe him and hopefully not make him angry, she spotted Derek and Ellie walking out of the dining hall. Derek's hand rested against Ellie's lower back. An innocent enough touch, but it didn't look so innocent to Kylie.
"He's just who?" Perry bit out.
Kylie looked back at Perry. Why, Kylie wondered, was she so involved in trying to fix everyone else's love life when she couldn't even fix her own?
"I don't know what to tell you, Perry. Life's hard. Love's harder."
* * *
Thirty minutes after breakfast, Kylie-with Perry still dogging her steps-stood in front of the dining hall again, looking for Helen. Kylie suspected Helen would be among the noisy crowd waiting for the names to be called for Meet Your Campmates hour.
She wasn't.
Lucas walked up, trailed by Fredericka. "Hey." He came close enough that his shoulder brushed against hers. His warmth reminded Kylie of the dream last night when he hadn't been warm. She so preferred him warm. She preferred him to be himself and not some psychotic killer vampire.
"Hey," she said, and tried not to look at Fredericka, who ambled slowly past.
"Everything okay?" Lucas asked, and then frowned at Perry, who stood on the other side of her, not that it affected Perry. He just nodded.
Fredericka kept slowing down, and unable to stop herself, Kylie glanced up. The she-wolf shot Kylie a sassy smile, no doubt wanting to rub it in that she'd been with Lucas.
Lucas dipped his head down a bit. "Sorry I missed breakfast. I had some pack business I had to take care of."
Pack business? Kylie couldn't help but wonder if the pack business wasn't all about them keeping her and Lucas apart. Frustration swelled in her chest. It was bad enough to have Fredericka plotting against her, but to think the whole pack was also against her was too much. She looked at Lucas. "I ... have to go."